Professional Documents
Culture Documents
CHAPTER 1
In this section, you will introduce your readers to the issue you are exploring. Be sure to
make your first sentence a compelling “hook.” State the major thesis that guides your study.
Problem Statement
In this section you will provide a concise statement of the problem in just a few
paragraphs.
Here you will make a case for the proposed relationship between the variables under
study.
It may be helpful to provide your readers with subheading to guide them through your
Section Headings
If you divide your section using subheading, be sure to include at least two at any given
level.
Research Questions
After a brief introduction, list your questions in a numbered list. These research
questions, worded in exactly the same way, will be repeated at the beginning of Chapter 3.
Here, you will make a case for why the problem you have proposed to study is both
consequences will ensue with the information that may be gained from your study).
Definitions of Terms
Provide your readers with constitutive definitions of any specialized terms that you use,
especially those that may have multiple definitions in the literature. You may quote specific
authors whose work you may be following. This is not the place to discuss operational
CHAPTER 3
You’ll probably start with a brief introduction, stating once again the purpose of your
study.
Research Questions
Provide a brief introduction linking what you presented in Chapter 2 to your research
questions. Then list your research questions exactly as they were listed in Chapter 1.
Method
You should avoid “stacking” headings one of top of the other with no intervening text.
Describe the nature of your study (e.g., mixed methods, quasi-experimental, program evaluation,
etc.)
Participants
Tell who you plan to invite to participate in your study. Be as specific as you can at this
point.
Data Sources
Describe the nature of the data you will use to answer your research questions. Again,
section, the response scale, any available validity and reliability information, as well one or two
sample items.
Measure two. Provide the same information for each measure you will use in your study,
Interview protocol. If your study is qualitative in nature, you will describe your
interview protocol for individual or focus group interviews. You may provide a copy of the
Document analysis. Describe any documents or other artifacts that will be part of your
Data Collection
Describe how you will recruit participants to your study, including any incentives you
Data Analysis
Describe specifically how you plan to analyze your data. It is helpful to provide a table
that lists each research question along with the data sources and the data analysis that you plan to
Table 1
Question 1
Question 2
Question 3
Question 4
Ethical Considerations
Describe the procedures you will follow to secure appropriate permissions to conduct
your study through the W&M Education Institutional Review Board (EDIRC) and to protect
Describe the underlying assumptions of the research method or approach that you are
selected for your study. The delimitations and limitations sections of your research proposal
describe situations and circumstances that may affect or restrict your methods and analysis of
research data.
delimitations will frequently deal with such items as population/sample, treatment(s), setting, and
instrumentation. Delimitations are choices made by the researcher which should be mentioned.
They describe the boundaries that you have set for the study. Limit your delimitations to the
things that a reader might reasonably expect you to do but that you, for clearly explained reasons,
Limitations are influences that the researcher cannot control. They are the shortcomings,
conditions or influences that cannot be controlled by the researcher that place restrictions on your
methods and conclusions. Any limitations that might influence the results should be mentioned.
You might consider limitations affecting the instruments you utilized, the sample, your analysis,
the nature of self-reporting, time constraints, and limitations to the generalizability of the
findings.